Let Me Take Care of You
by lovemusicfics
Summary: I didn't need to hear what Harry had to say, I just needed to be with Ron. After the battle, part of my series, however, you don't need to read True Torture to get this.


Disclaimer: The characters that I am using in my fanfiction belong to JK Rowling, I only own the plot and only part of it. The events are based off of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, therefore, I don't own the entire plot of this fic.

Note: This literally popped in my head last night and it wouldn't leave. For those who I have been chatting with about another fic that I am really excited about, this isn't it. Although I am really excited about this one, just wait and see for the next one! This is only a one-shot, but it is a part of the series that I began with True Torture. Enjoy!

Let Me Take Care of You

Three days felt like a lifetime, three days had passed since the fall of the Dark Lord, Voldemort. The Weasleys had kindly taken Harry and I to their home, in their private time of grief. I knew Fred, but I thought it was inappropriate to be in such an intimate event.

The three days had been such a whirl-wind. The night after the battle, Harry slept soundly, Ginny right next to him. I was sitting on the couch with Ron's head on my shoulder, crying. I let him cry, I had to. His arms circled my waist and held me tightly to him. My fingers were in his hair while my other hand rubbed his back as I cooed to him. The next day the Weasleys made plans for Fred's burial, he was to be buried on Hogwarts grounds along with the other eighty people that perished on the grounds that night. George had made the decision, but the only words he muttered were, "People need to know that he was a part of _his _downfall. He was a hero, he is a hero." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were both silent in the matter, it was their son's choice, he knew Fred the best. Meanwhile, Ron held my hand, we hadn't talked about what had happened between us during the battle, so I just assumed that I was only there as comfort, then we would talk about the relationship aspect. Once the matter was decided about Fred's eternal resting location, we were told to pack our belongings for the Burrow. Of course, Harry and I objected but Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have any of it. We were ushered out of the Great Hall, Harry sped up to catch up to Ginny, while Ron and I lagged behind.

"You know you're family right?" he whispered, the first words he had said since we were alone last night.

"Yeah, just like a sister." I looked down, embarrassed.

"No, not like a sister." His voice was becoming more confident, but he was clearly holding back.

"Then how?" I asked, stopping us from continuing on. He turned to me, his eyes didn't bear the same shine that they normally did, the blue depths of his irises weren't deep and playful, they were shallow, dark, and serious.

"Hermione, you're not my sister, you could never be my sister. I kissed you back for a reason, what this is," he motioned to our hands, "is hopefully a relationship." He dropped my hand, put his arm around my shoulder, grabbed my hand, and put it around his waist, "Does this make it clearer, now that we're closer?" Yes, it was so clear now, _when had he become so bold?_

We walked in silence all the way to the common room where we sat on the couch, again in silence. I had everything packed away in my purple bag, nothing had been unpacked, and therefore, we were still in our bloodied clothes. Ron seemed to notice as he picked some dirt from his sweatshirt and flicked it to the floor.

One by one each Weasley had filtered into the common room. Only Ginny had needed to really pack and she and Harry had successfully done the task and carried her trunk to the bottom of the girls' staircase.

Mr. Weasley silently set a basketball in the center and we all reached for it, Ron's hand in mine, we were all pulled by our bellybuttons with the portkey.

When we touched down on the ground a collective, audible sigh came from all of us, the Burrow was still standing. After the Weasley's had gone into hiding, the risk of death eaters destroying their beloved home skyrocketed. Together they entered their home with caution, Harry and I both falling back, yet being pulled along by the Weasley's. Ron's arm was securely around my waist and his other arm was linked with Harry's to pull him up with the group.

Once the whole house was confirmed to be safe, the Weasley's all went their separate ways, trying to go back to their normal lives, but each going off to cry and bask in the new lives they would lead with a broken family.

Ron had disentangled himself from us, leaving with his head held low. I wanted to follow, but he needed some time alone.

I let him be alone for a few hours and unpacked my beaded bag back into my trunk that I had vacated at the Burrow when we had started our hunt months ago. I sorted clothes into dirty piles, books into their correct genre, and at last, I pulled out the miscellaneous things. At the bottom of the bag was something I hoped to never see again, the locket, burnt and worn. I put it in a pile of its own, making a mental note to rid myself of it forever the first chance I got. When I finished organizing my belongings, I began my next task of cleaning clothes.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, silent. I put my basket of clothes down on the far side of the table and put my hand on her back. She looked up at me, her eyes watery, but the tears hadn't fallen yet.

"Where's Ron?" she asked in her raspy voice.

"He needed some time alone." I responded.

"And you left him?" she asked, the way she said it made it sound so bad.

"Ginny, if he needs his time I'm going to give it to him, not crowd him." I explained.

"He needs you, you know he does. He has needed you since day one; open your eyes, Hermione. Go to him, I'll finish the laundry, I need something to occupy my time, I can't cry anymore, the tears just won't fall." She got up and brushed my hand off her back. "Go."

She was right, he needed me, how could I be so stupid? Each step up the stairs that I took led me closer and closer to my destination, when I reached the fourth landing, I ran into Harry.

"Are you going up? He's not going to talk." He solemnly kept going, he seemed frustrated, he must've tried to get Ron to talk.

"I don't need him to talk Harry, I just need to be there, I need to take care of him." I kept my footing on the stairs as I continued past him, not hearing what he had to say, I didn't care, I just wanted to be with Ron. The top landing was dark and Ron's door was closed, silently I let the door open with a light push. I could see Ron's shape on the bed, but the room was dark as well. He was on top of the covers and in the fetal position on his side with his head on the pillow. He didn't flinch as I lit a candle and closed the door. I walked closer to his bedside, my heart breaking with every step, it hurt to see him so broken and lost. I sat down next to him and rubbed his back.

"Scoot over," I whispered, he obeyed and I whispered another command as I laid on the bed with him, "roll over on your stomach," he finally looked at me, his face a mess of confusion and sadness. I moved myself under him and pulled his head to my chest, I felt his scarred arms wrap around my waist and grip me tightly. I rubbed his back and played with his hair as I let him cry into my shirt.

"Just cry, I'm here," I cooed.

He cried for what seemed like forever. His body racked with sobs at times and other times he would just weep. It must've been at least an hour or so. Finally, the tears began to slow my shirt was soaked straight through. I moved my head so I could see his face.

His eyes were shut tightly, trying not to release any more tears. His cheeks were stained with the wet tracks where the tears had cleaned away the dirt and grime that was caked on his face. Each breath he took was ragged, almost like a hiccup, he was hysteric, but trying to hide it from me. His features looked so pained; it broke my heart into little pieces.

"Rest now, I'll be here when you wake up." I whispered, his sobs were gone and his body was relaxing into a sleep. A sleep that he hadn't had in a very long time. I just wanted to make the pain go away for a little while.

Soon I felt my eyes droop as I let myself fall asleep too. I adjusted myself one more time so that I could remain wrapped around Ron, comforting him even in sleep, for as long as he needed me.

Note:

I am so sorry that this has taken FOREVER to post, I started working on this a day after I finished True Torture. I do have another fic on the way, the one I have been talking about I really hope you all enjoyed this, I really like the tenderness between Ron and Hermione. I wanted to have Hermione care for a broken Ron, but I didn't know how I wanted to say it, that is why it has taken me so long. ENJOY Review and tell me your opinion, I am not afraid of criticism.


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